If you’ve ever been a part of a company that was laying off employees, then you know the discomfort that is felt around the office as people wonder which desks will be targeted with pink slips. In the past, one of the groups at the greatest risk to be laid off was the older employees. People in their 50’s and 60’s generally had a greater tenure with the company, a higher salary, and a bigger impact on the bottom line. This recession has been different though, with workers in their 20’s and 30’s targeted more heavily in layoffs.

According to a recent report published in the Wall Street Journal, one of the reasons that younger workers are being axed is that companies are terrified of age discrimination issues that could breed lawsuits. Labor lawyers say that the workers hired most recently are at a far greater risk than they have traditionally been in layoffs, even though they have the shortest track record with the company.

Statistics back up this information, as the unemployment rate among workers age 25-34 has jumped from 4.9% to 9.6% in the past year. For workers over age 55, the unemployment rate has gone from 3.3% to 6.2% over the same period of time. This is not a good trend for either age group, but the increase among younger workers is a change from the norm during downturns in the job cycle.

Most states have laws protecting workers from age discrimination, but most of this protection doesn’t take effect for workers under 40 years of age. Because of this, younger people are much less of a lawsuit risk than older employees.

Regardless of your age, it is essential to make yourself as valuable as possible to your employer with the economy struggling. The worst thing you can be when your company needs to cut costs is expendable. Show up early, stay late, push back those vacation plans, and volunteer to participate in any project that will strengthen your foothold in the company. You may not be able to remove all the risk that you could be laid off, but your actions now can make a big difference when your company is deciding whether or not they can afford to let you go.

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Tags: jobs, layoffs, recession

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